India asked to provide fair business environment
China’s foreign ministry on Wednesday urged India to provide a fair business environment following reports that the South Asian country barred Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE from working with local companies on 5G technology.
“The Chinese government always encourages Chinese companies to conduct business and trade cooperation overseas following international rules and local laws, but at the same time, also hopes other countries provide a fair, just and transparent environment for Chinese companies to invest and operate,” ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a daily briefing on Wednesday.
Geng’s remarks came after Indian media outlets reported that the Indian Department of Telecommunications has barred Huawei and ZTE from the list of companies allowed to work with local companies in 5G technology-based trials due to “security” concerns.
Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow with the Institute of International Relations at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that the move by India is a sign of protectionism and it should open up its market to fair competition.
India is unwilling to see Chinese high technologies enter the country, thinking that Chinese companies will seize its market, Hu noted.
The security concerns are only an excuse, Hu said.
Such moves also indicate India’s intention to please the US by adopting a tough stance against China, Chinese observers said, as the US banned government personnel from using Huawei technologies and Australia barred the company from providing equipment to support the country’s new telecommunications networks.
Geng said that trade cooperation between China and India is mutually beneficial, with the overall development being positive.
Hu noted that although bilateral trade should indeed be mutually beneficial, India does not see its trade deficit with China as positively as China. That was why New Delhi is making protectionist maneuvers, he concluded.
China is not to blame in this case as India mostly only exports raw materials and products with low-added value to China, Hu said.